149: Chapter 147 Xiao Yan is blocked outside the Spirit Realm

With everyone waiting in anticipation, two months passed in the blink of an eye.

The day of the Ling Clan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony had arrived.

The four great Dou Di Clans—the Gu Clan, Yan Clan, Lei Clan, and Medicine Clan—had all dispatched delegations to attend the ceremony.

The composition of each clan's delegation was basically the same: led by a resident Half-Saint Elder, followed by a group of the clan's top young Geniuses.

They had made the special trip to witness this grand event belonging to the Ling Clan, and also to see Ling Yuan's true strength and Bloodline grade with their own eyes.

A few days before the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Ling Yuan finally emerged from the secret chamber.

"Phew, this time I will definitely give them a huge shock."

At this moment, guests from all directions had arrived outside the Spirit Realm, waiting to enter the Small World.

As the Ling Clan's Young Clan Leader, and also the key figure for the Bloodline testing and strength assessment of this Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Ling Yuan was exceptionally busy preparing for all aspects of the event.

Ling Mie currently had no intention of abdicating, but the upper echelons of the Ling Clan had long since begun letting Ling Yuan handle various clan affairs, familiarizing him with the responsibilities of the Clan Chief in advance to pave the way for him to take over the Ling Clan in the future.

Ling Yuan sat upright at the desk in the main hall, head lowered as he earnestly reviewed the dossiers in his hands, checking off the list of major forces and their accompanying personnel coming to attend the ceremony, as well as their identity reports, to ensure the proceedings would go off without a hitch.

Compared to the busy Ling Yuan, Zi Yan appeared exceptionally leisurely.

She was sitting on a stone chair to the side, where Ling Yuan could see her the moment he looked up, her posture lazy and relaxed, slowly nibbling on a sweet spiritual fruit in her hand.

Having been pregnant for over a year, Zi Yan's belly was slightly rounded, but because she had a good physique, she looked no different from an ordinary woman two months into pregnancy, showing no signs of being burdened.

Perhaps because life was too comfortable, or perhaps because the dragon-nurturing pill had taken effect, Zi Yan's complexion was exceptionally rosy, her mental state was excellent, and she still radiated liveliness.

Whenever Ling Yuan looked up to rest for a moment, Zi Yan would make an encouraging gesture at him, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Husband, keep it up! Finish handling these things quickly, and when the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is over, take me and the child out for a stroll and some fun."

This somewhat heartwarming scene made Ling Yuan feel that life was quite bearable.

After returning a gentle look, Ling Yuan withdrew his gaze and continued to lower his head to check the personnel dossiers in his hands, flipping through them page by page.

When he reached the latter half, a separately folded letter suddenly slid out from the dossiers.

It was not on behalf of the Gu Clan, but a private letter sent by Gu Xun'er in her personal capacity.

Ling Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly and curiously unfolded the letter to examine it.

The general content was: Brother Xiao Yan had already arrived in Central Plains, and upon hearing that Big Brother Ling Yuan was about to hold a Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he also wanted to come and offer his congratulations, but he had not received an invitation and could not enter the Spirit Realm, so he hoped Big Brother Ling Yuan could grant him passage.

The Xiao Clan had once been an ancient Dou Di Clan, but the Xiao Family certainly was not now.

At least, the other Dou Di Clans did not recognize them as such.

A Family whose strongest member was only a Great Dou Master... oh, wait, now it was a Dou Huang.

How could such a Family be worthy of standing alongside them? Wouldn't that lower the prestige of the Dou Di Clans?

And the Ling Clan certainly would not have nothing better to do than invite the Xiao Family.

That was how this situation came to be; Xiao Yan was only a Dou Huang, clearly unqualified to attend the ceremony, and was blocked outside.

The threshold for the Ling Clan's grand event was extremely high; for non-Dou Di Clans, even if a Half-Saint powerhouse came in person, without an invitation, they were strictly forbidden from entering, let alone Xiao Yan, who was merely at the Dou Huang Realm.

The people on the Gu Clan's side almost all looked down on Xiao Yan; it was impossible for Xiao Yan to come with the Gu Clan's delegation.

If Xiao Yan took the official route, there was absolutely no possibility of him entering.

In utter desperation, Gu Xun'er could only write a private letter to ask Ling Yuan for help.

That Xiao Yan was also coming did surprise Ling Yuan a little.

Upon learning that Xiao Yan was still waiting outside Lingyuan City, Ling Yuan called over a Dou Zun subordinate.

"Go outside Lingyuan City and bring in a person named Xiao Yan. Let him follow the four great Dou Di Clans' delegations to enter and attend the ceremony. Guests are guests, so treat him well; do not be negligent."

Although the subordinate was confused, he did not ask.

He had long been accustomed to Ling Yuan's style of doing things; things ordered by Ling Yuan never required subordinates to ask for the reasons, they only needed to carry them out.

"Yes, Young Clan Leader."

For Ling Yuan, this was just a trivial matter. After arranging it with a wave of his hand, he did not give it another thought and continued to focus on his own affairs.

On the plaza outside Lingyuan City, all the forces invited to attend the ceremony were waiting in an orderly fashion for the Spirit Realm to open.

The Ling Clan dispatched two Half-Saint Elders to preside over the scene, responsible for receiving guests from all sides and maintaining order.

The division of the forces present was very clear, with distinct Ranks; one could see the disparity in status at a glance.

One group was the four Dou Di Clans—the Gu, Yan, Lei, and Medicine Clans—who stood in the very front.

Another group was the Nine Serenities Earth-Underworld Python Clan.

In the rearmost area were the Ling Clan's affiliated forces, as well as the major first-rate forces in the Central Plains that were fortunate enough to receive a spot to attend the ceremony.

Based on the strength of the groups, these people were divided into different tiers.

However, what was more obvious was that the four Dou Di Clans looked down on everyone, including the Nine Serenities Earth-Underworld Python Clan; they felt that standing with them was a loss of Face.

Just as the various parties were waiting quietly, Ling Yuan's subordinate brought Xiao Yan over, heading straight towards the formation of the Dou Di Clans at the very front.

Xiao Yan was quite nervous at this moment.

He had just broken through to a two-star Dou Huang and come to the Central Plains wanting to make a name for himself, and as it happened, he learned about Ling Yuan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony from Gu Xun'er.

Thus, he wanted to come and participate, and incidentally, see his Xun'er.

It was not until he arrived at Lingyuan City that he truly felt how terrifying the Ling Clan's foundation was; it far exceeded his imagination.

Dou Zun powerhouses, which were rarely seen on the surface of the Central Plains, were in a nest here.

Wasn't it supposed to be the One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions? What was the situation now?

At the Dou Huang Realm, he couldn't even enter Lingyuan City.

Gu Xun'er wanted to bring him in, but the Gu Clan's Half-Saint Elders and the younger generation of the Gu Clan did not agree.

Gu Yao, who admired Gu Xun'er, even resorted to all sorts of insults against Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan had originally intended to endure it, and seeing that he truly could not enter the city, he had already planned to turn and leave, but he did not expect that Ling Yuan's subordinate would suddenly find him and bring him directly into the city.

"Elder Quan, the Young Clan Leader specifically instructed me to bring young friend Xiao Yan here and treat him well."

Although this subordinate was only at the Dou Zun Realm, a Dou Zun by Ling Yuan's side could not be compared to other Dou Zuns.

Even this Half-Saint Elder would give him some Face.

The Ling Clan Half-Saint responsible for reception glanced at Xiao Yan with some surprise, then nodded.

"Good, please convey to the Young Clan Leader that this old man is aware."

"Young friend Xiao Yan, please this way."

This scene was seen by those who had come to attend the ceremony.

Everyone was a bit curious: on what basis could this two-star Dou Huang Xiao Yan stand with the people of the Dou Di Clans?

What kind of friendship did this person have with Ling Yuan?

As for Gu Xun'er, seeing that her sweetheart had arrived, she naturally went over to him.

"Brother Xiao Yan..."

When everyone learned that Xiao Yan was from the fallen Xiao Clan, they lost interest in him.

Instead of being curious about why the Ling Clan had invited Xiao Yan, it would be better to ponder why the Gu Clan's Young Miss Gu Xun'er would take a fancy to Xiao Yan?